"Wait… I can use my creatures? You'll allow it?"
Banner's eyes widened, his expression almost childlike in relief.
"Thank you—thank you so much! I promised them they'd see battle against gods one day. They'll be thrilled."
Loki's brow furrowed at the words, his pride stung. Did this mortal just compare him to some kind of zoo attraction?
He was preparing to cut Banner down with a sneer when the scientist knelt and clicked open the latches of his weathered case.
Looking up from his crouch, Banner asked nervously, "So… shall we begin?"
Loki clasped his hands behind his back and chuckled with disdain. "Mortals are always the same. Even knowing you'll lose, you insist on playing theatrics. Very well—show me this spectacle. I want to see just how pitiful it will be."
Banner twitched at the insult but said nothing. He'd long since trained himself not to flare up at mockery. Instead, he bent to the case, took a steadying breath, and called out:
"Alright, everyone—showtime!"
Every eye in the arena locked on the case. A hush fell, broken only by the creak of leather. What would this mortal dare summon against a god?
For a moment, nothing happened. Loki smirked, already sharpening his tongue for another remark, conjuring twin daggers behind his back.
"If that battered case is all you've brought, Midgardian, then you—"
A piercing cry split the air.
From the case burst a massive, winged creature—its body half-eagle, half-horse, feathers dark as storm clouds. Its wings beat once, stirring gales across the arena. Banner laughed nervously as the beast nudged him up onto its back with its hooked beak.
The Hippogriff carried him skyward, wings spanning wide enough to blot out the sun.
Loki's smirk faltered.
Then, with a clap like thunder, another beast burst free: a golden-winged predator with arcs of lightning flickering along its feathers. Its cry rolled like a storm, and thunderheads began to coil unnaturally above the arena.
The Asgardians gasped as the Thunderbird climbed into the skies beside Banner.
But the summons weren't done.
A blaze of fire burst forth next—fiery wings spreading wide as a phoenix ascended, trailing sparks. Below it, the ground trembled as a reptilian giant staggered free, its scales obsidian black, its eyes glowing molten gold. It was a dragon, towering over the stage, sulfur hissing from its maw.
The Ridgeback's roar shook the arena to its foundations. Wind, heat, and the stench of fire swept Loki, his hair snapping backward in the gale.
The god swallowed hard, muttering, "I've always hated lightning…"
"Attack!" Banner commanded from above.
The dragon lunged first, belching flame across the stage, engulfing Loki in a wave of fire. The Thunderbird shrieked, diving, and released a crack of lightning that split the blaze, detonating it into a storm of fire and thunder.
The crowd gasped, the sound of their cheers swallowed in the chaos.
Thor slammed open the lounge doors, hair wild, and shouted from the hallway, "Loki!"
In Kamar-Taj's chamber, Wong clutched his relic nervously. "Is it over already?"
Beside him, Tony tapped at his holographic display, Jarvis feeding him data streams. "Not likely. Based on Thor's fight stats, that much voltage and fire would barely give him a bad perm. We're not done."
Up in the stands, Malrick glanced at Odin. The All-Father closed his one good eye, expression unreadable. Malrick smirked. "Seems the prince isn't having as much fun as he thought."
Back on the field, the firestorm raged until, with a sudden rush, a figure burst free.
"You dare!" Loki's voice boomed. His hair smoked at the tips, his skin blackened with soot, but his eyes blazed with fury.
"You insignificant mortal—how dare you insult a god!"
The audience exhaled as one. Loki was battered but largely unharmed.
On the Hippogriff's back, Banner grimaced. "Stronger than I expected. Energy attacks won't cut it. Time for plan B… blunt force."
The case rattled again. More creatures surged forth—giant, horned behemoths with plated hides, monstrous felines with fangs like swords, and shadowy predators whose very breath shimmered with poison.
The stage groaned beneath their combined weight.
"Go!" Banner ordered.
The dragon swung its colossal tail, slamming Loki into the ground with a thunderous crack. A horned beast lowered its head and charged, driving him across the dirt. Another beast stamped down, its massive hooves pinning him in place, while the venomous predator snapped at his arm with unnatural speed.
Above, the phoenix and thunderbird dove in tandem, their talons raking across Loki's defenses, sparks and embers raining down like meteors.
The god was pummeled, crushed, and clawed from every direction.
The crowd looked on in stunned silence, some clutching their weapons as though feeling the blows themselves.
On the stage, Loki's body reeled under each strike. Flames licked his skin, talons drew blood, hooves left him buried in dirt. He staggered to his knees, chest heaving, his composure shredded.
For the first time, the God of Mischief looked less like a deity and more like prey.
And in the pit of his stomach, one thought echoed bitterly:
Before all of Asgard… before my father himself… I am being humiliated.
____
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